Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

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Silverado boys, Bonanza girls claim state bowling titles

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Silverado won its third boys bowling championship Thursday with a 7-2 win against Bonanza in the Clark County School District finals at the Orleans Bowling Center.

The Skyhawks won last year's title along with the 2001 championship, making them the most successful boys program since bowling became a county sport in 2000.

In the girls finals, Bonanza helped make up for its boys' loss by defeating Eldorado 7-2.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association recognizes the titles as state championships as bowling is not a sanctioned sport in Northern Nevada.

Silverado junior Justin Estell led all bowlers on the day, rolling a 682 set.

Estell had a perfect game through the first nine frames of his third game, but missed a strike by two pins in the final frame.

"I knew I was that close but I just tried to stay calm," Estell said. "I'm disappointed I didn't get the perfect game but the state championship makes up for it."

Silverado's four starters combined to bowl 909 in the first game, beating Bonanza by a wide margin of 141 pins.

The dominant start made the Skyhawks a little too overconfident, Estell said, and Bonanza took the second game 824-758.

Silverado recovered for the third game, winning 900-825 and won the overall pin score 2,567-2,407.

"Throughout the regional tournament we were bowling about average," Silverado's Zack Hattori said. "Today we just went off. We wanted it so bad and we did everything we could."

Bonanza's boys came into the postseason a No. 3 seed, and knocked off No. 1 seeds Bishop Gorman and Shadow Ridge to claim the Sunset Region title and qualify for the county finals.

Bengals coach Patrick Herbert said the bowling season was the best in the school's history, even if the boys could not pull off another upset.

"It was great seeing both teams get to the finals," Herbert said. "To me both teams accomplished a lot, just to different degrees."

Bonanza's girls went into the finals on a hot streak, as they gave up only three games all season.

But Eldorado made an instant impression by taking game one 711-677.

Bonanza edged out game two with a slim 10-pin victory and clinched the title in game three with a commanding 861-682 win. The Bengals won the overall pin score 2274-2119.

Bonanza senior Hannah Chipman led all girls by bowling a 668 set.

"It was a good game for us because we were all on at the same time," Chipman said. "It feels awesome to bring the title back to Bonanza."

Bonanza last won the championships in 2005, which was followed by a three-year dominance by Coronado's girls.

Eldorado ended Coronado's string of championships with a 7-2 win the in the Sunrise Region finals Wednesday.

"Beating Coronado was our goal all year," Eldorado senior Gabriella Kinney said. "It was a successful season even if we didn't win state."

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].

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